The Legacy of Diverse Leadership at FSU and its Impact for Equity and Inclusion Going Forward

A few
weeks ago, I attended a speech given by Doby Flowers at the Multicultural
Leadership Summit hosted by The Center for Leadership and Social Change at
Florida State University. Doby Flowers is one of three individuals featured in
FSU’s Integration Statue on the Legacy Walk pathway that runs through the heart
of campus. Doby Flowers is featured as the first African American homecoming
queen alongside her brother Fred Flowers, the first African American athlete at
FSU, and Maxwell Courtney, the first African American to graduate from Florida
State University. The university has a unique history with strides towards civil
rights as students were able to make monumental achievements without the
devastating effects or backlash of the historic violence that characterized a
number of civil rights initiatives throughout the 1950s-70s. While these
achievements were made without a history of violence it is important to note
that the students involved in the integration movements at FSU faced extreme
challenges that threatened their academic, athletic, and social successes at
the university.

The impact
of the efforts of students in the integration era are still present in the
university today due to their continued work. Doby and Fred Flowers have recently
been involved in the creation and planning of the Civil Rights Institute at FSU,
implemented for the study of civil rights and social change. Initially, the
siblings met with the Provost, Sally McRorie, and the President, John Thrasher
to propose the idea, which was approved and began with a few individuals
involved in a planning committee. Eventually, this endeavor grew into an
interdisciplinary collaborative effort between the Office of the Provost, FSU
Libraries, the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, the College of
Social Sciences and Public Policy, the College of Communications and
Information, and the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. The idea was
to share the Institute with the campus instead of it belonging to one academic
department.

The role
of the Institute is to have a space to learn from one another and to engage and
discuss ideas for fostering understanding and civility. The Civil Rights Institute’s
purpose is to serve as a reminder of the impact and legacy of the civil rights
movements so that current and future generations do not forget the impact of
civil rights historically and at FSU. The Institute is housed in Strozier
Library and features civil rights collections including archives of African
American newspapers, FSU Black Student Union and PRIDE Student Union records,
files from the Emmett Till Trial, microfilm from the NAACP and ACLU
organizations, and research archives from various civil rights pioneers. The Institute
also offers two fully funded fellowships for FSU students who are interested in
studying or working in civil rights. The fellowships begin starting the summer
of 2019. Future plans for the Institute include curriculum support for the
university, hosting conferences, and collaborating with different groups in the
greater Tallahassee community.

During her
speech at the 2019 Multicultural Leadership Summit, Doby spoke about a few
things including her personal pathway from undergraduate education to how she
built her career and what it meant to be a leader, then and now:

On not Separating Academic Development and Social Development

Doby
talked at length how back then students were equally excited to participate in
social development endeavors as much as academic endeavors. She talked about
how those in the Black Student Union would purposefully collaborate with the
Athletics department to make sure student athletes were being represented at
FSU by ensuring official participation on the team and being represented at
home and away games. She discussed how athletes were very committed to getting
the full value of their education which she expressed seemed to be more
polarized now. For example, she stated she doesn’t see leaders of the football
or basketball teams pushing for academic initiatives within their own colleges
or making efforts to continue to enact positive change like she did when she
was a student here. She talked at length how the different student leaders
across campus would find times to meet to discuss each organization’s pressing
issues and how they could possibly work together to achieve a common goal.

Granted
there are a proliferation of campus organizations now, but similar
collaborative efforts are needed and there is space to make this possible. One
area of collaboration for diversity efforts is the National Coalition Building
Institute (NCBI) at FSU. This organization is affiliated with FSU and aims to
diminish prejudice and discrimination throughout the broader society as well as
locally. One way student leaders as well as faculty and staff who understand
the value of equity and inclusion can ensure FSU students are excelling
academically as well as socially is by learning how to build coalitions across
campus organizations and strive for similar goals.

On Seeing more FSU Leaders Engaging the Community

In the
spirit of building coalitions and putting collective effort towards similar
valuable goals of diversity and inclusion, one has to recognize that structures
that individuals and organizations operate within exist under an established status
quo. For example, while Florida State University has created strategic plans
for diversity and has recently won its 3rd national “Diversity
Champion” award from INSIGHT Into
Diversity, we need to acknowledge that efforts to achieve equitable and
inclusive experiences of students, faculty, and staff, are still very much
needed. We as individuals must push the status quo to not be complacent with
increased numbers of demographic groups but must continue to strive for
equitable opportunities and inclusive experiences. Where diversity efforts do a
phenomenal job of increasing representation of various status groups, we need
to do the other work that ensures these groups feel comfortable and confident enough
and have the resources they need to excel once they arrive at our institution.

On the
opening night of the Civil Rights Institute, Doby stated that the idea of
change is an arduous process, but it can be done and is possible to do when
people act as agents of change for the greater good. Similarly, Doby also
talked at length during her speech at the Multicultural Leadership Summit how she
would like to see more community engagement from the leaders around FSU. We are
in a unique situation in Tallahassee where we have a historically White
university, a historically Black university, and a community college that has
historically served working class populations. Each of these institutions serve
a multitude of identities and serve a separate function within the broader
community. Doby called for the need of groups that push to include the goals of
these institutions as well as those involved in organizations around
Tallahassee. One area for this type of collaboration is through the Diversity
and Inclusion in Research and Teaching Organization (DIRECTO) at FSU. DIRECTO
strives to host events and engage in prolonged conversations among faculty,
students, staff, alumni, and executive leadership at FSU as well as community
groups and leaders in Tallahassee to engage in discussions and best practices on
what we are doing well and how we should improve our efforts for promoting and
ensuring diversity and inclusion.

FSU has a
legacy of initiatives from its diverse leaders over the years and this is an
accomplishment to be proud of, in the same vein though, it is imperative that
we understand the demands of the time and strive for more than just diversity. FSU
has a strategic plan for diversity that is a worthy and honorable plan but let
us continue to see how efforts can be improved. For example, many colleges and
departments have adopted versions of FSU Strategic Goal III while some have
not. We should strive towards institutional goals that reflect this initiative.
Individuals within their own departments should push for diversity and
inclusion efforts or projects that serve as a reminder that the work of equity
and inclusion is daily work.

While we should applaud the various centers, programs, departments, and colleges around FSU for planning diversity events, much of this work is isolated; other departments are often not aware of when these events are happening. We should push within our departments, colleges, and university to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a centralized effort. The work has been started, evidenced by the President’s Diversity and Inclusion Council which currently works with a number of undergraduate and faculty groups that advocate for veterans, the LGBTQ+ community, and racial and ethnic minorities. However, as Fred and Doby Flowers indicated, let us not forget the work of the civil rights movements and continue to push ourselves to reach for real progress.

Brittney Dennis is a doctoral candidate in sociology at Florida State University with research interests in race, gender, and higher education. She also sits on the board of DIRECTO- The Diversity & Inclusion in Research & Teaching Organization at FSU. She is looking forward to completing a dissertation on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.